Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $67.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $56.00. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.38% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on GPI. ValuEngine cut Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. BidaskClub raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 15th. Zacks Investment Research raised Group 1 Automotive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $66.00 target price (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Finally, TheStreet cut Group 1 Automotive from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.50.

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Group 1 Automotive (GPI) opened at 64.81 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $58.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.10. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $51.62 and a one year high of $83.18. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.61.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post $7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 47,561.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,537,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,654 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 5.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,275,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,095,000 after purchasing an additional 122,130 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 19.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,802,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,122,000 after purchasing an additional 295,967 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 25.9% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 765,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,456,000 after purchasing an additional 157,223 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.2% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 652,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,312,000 after purchasing an additional 7,600 shares during the period. 97.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an operator in the automotive retail industry. The Company, through its dealerships, sells new and used cars and light trucks; arranges related vehicle financing; sells service and insurance contracts; provides automotive maintenance and repair services, and sells vehicle parts.